Earth Day

Since my Dad was in the hospital and I was out of town when the tree-hugging photos were taken, I decided to instead post a photo that was taken of me mourning Trout and Sprout when I returned and found them both dead.

Happy Earth Day!
http://www.rd.com/slideshows/6-surprising-earth-day-statistics/

Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale fossils are often referred to as the "world's most significant fossil discovery" because not only were the usual, hard parts of the organisms preserved, but also the soft parts- such as the muscles, gills, etc. They're also over 500 million years old, and the fossils were in very good condition when found by scientists in 1909.

anomalocaris- the largest known Burgess Shale animal (as big as six feet), also known as "strange shrimp". 











wiwaxia- looks like a slug, but has two rows of spines and flat, overlapping shells.

hallucigenia- one of the smallest creatures of the Burgess Shale, with seven pairs of spines.


opabinia- has five eyes, a mouth under its head, and stuffed food in its mouth similar to how an elephant does.
*see video-- http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article//cambrian_06

waptia- small, shrimp like (not nearly as much information about it online....)


marella- most abundant of Burgess Shale animals, two spines, two pairs of antennae


http://paleobiology.si.edu/burgess/

Lab Assignment- Mercer's Campus

These are all things I found on campus (with the help of my boyfriend, the biologist)--

Trees: Sawtooth Oak, Shurmand Oak, Crepe Myrtle, Dogwood, Red Bud
Plants: Dandelions, Daffodils, Iris, Tulips, Poison Ivy
Rocks: Feldspar, Granite, Limestone, Quartz, Ochre
Animals: Grey Squirrel, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Cottontail Rabbit, Domestic Cats

The Water Cycle

The water cycle is vast in its intricacies but can be simplified to illustrate a basic concept of its mechanism. It’s important to know that the water cycle depends on water’s unique facility to occur naturally in all three physical states (liquid, gas, solid) on earth. The cycle is also greatly influenced by water’s exceptional thermal properties, adhesive and cohesive properties, and ability to act as the universal solvent of most compounds on earth. That said it’s most useful to describe the water cycle by tracing one small group of water molecules and assuming for all intents and purposes that those few molecules never go too far from each other. So, let’s start with some water in a lake. The water on the surface of the lake is exposed to high heat and evaporates. The previously liquid water then travels as a gas into the atmosphere. As the warm water vapor rises it coalesces into clouds. There the water undergoes adiabadic cooling and can no longer exist in the form of vapor. The now cooled water molecules fall in the form of rain, or some other precipitation and flow into the lake where they originated. The water’s journey has been cyclic, and on its way has influenced weather, plant growth, animal populations, pollution distribution, and global climate.

The end!

DIRT!

12 soil orders of the world: http://soils.cals.uidaho.edu/soilorders/

A common soil in Georgia is Ultisols (http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~pgore/Earth&Space/GPS/soil.html).


http://wapi.isu.edu/envgeo/EG2_earth/images/ULTISOLFLA.jpg

A soil map of Georgia:
http://csat.er.usgs.gov/statewide/large/statsgo.png

The Munsell Soil Chart:
http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/pvg/munsell.htm

Soil Texture Diagram:
http://www.jsu.edu/dept/geography/mhill/phylabtwo/lab12/soiltextdiag.html

Now you know about DIRT!

Geology (Rocks) for Dummies (Me)

There are three types of rocks:
Igneous- formed when molten magma cools
Sedimentary- formed when matter is compressed
Metamorphic- formed when rocks are exposed to different temperatures and pressure conditions than original rock was formed in.

Examples of Igneous:
pumice and basalt
 


Examples of Sedimentary:
limestone and sandstone

 

Examples of Metamorphic:
marble and slate
 

*all pictures from rocksandminerals4u.com

Halophiles and Extremophiles, Oh My!

Halophiles are an example of extremophiles, and thrive in environments that have very high concentrations of salt (fun fact from Wikipedia: the word "halophile" comes from the Greek for "salt-loving"). Wikipedia gives the example of Owens Lake in California, which "contains a large population of the halophilic bacteria Halobacterium halobium". Below is a picture of the bacteria and Owens Lake (the bacteria turns the water pink).

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/lms/owenslake/

All About SPROUT and TROUT

Sprout's and Trout's Hobbies: Tanning and Drinking

2/15: Today Sprout was born. He was pretty tired, so I covered him up with soil so he could take a good nap without being bothered by the sunlight (babies need lots of rest).  For the next few days, I sprinkled him with water to make sure he didn't get too thirsty.

2/20: Sprout emerged today! I saw a little bit of green poking out of the soil, and I'm sure it has something to do with me talking to him everyday.

2/21: Not only has Sprout quadrupled in size since yesterday, I'm pretty sure he's A TWIN! I think I'll name the other baby plant Trout (who is almost as large as his brother). Both babies seem to be reaching for the sky, and are starting to show leaves. I am careful to make sure the soil is moist each day and that the babies get plenty of sun and attention.

2/28: I haven't updated you on the twins in a week because there hasn't been significant progress. They've grown slightly, and their leaves are starting to really open up. However, Sprout (located in the center of the cup) is struggling to stay upright. Trout lives on the side of the cup, and is doing better since he can lean against the cup's edge.

3/22: I just realized that I haven't updated you on the twins (spring break threw me off my rhythm) but there have been BIG changes! Sprout and Trout were recently upgraded from their tiny plastic cup to a giant planter (complete with ladybugs on it!). They've been in their new home for about a week. I've transitioned to watering them once a day, and trying to leave them in the sunlight all day and bringing them in at night. However, I left them outside one day during a rainstorm, and they looked a little beat up, so I'm trying to check the weather everyday to make sure I don't subject them to that again. Their leaves are flourishing, and I'm excited to see how they grow from here!

Lab Assignment

I chose to highlight the Lake Erie Center, located in Ohio's Maumee Bay State Park. Operated by Toledo State University, this center is an "interdisciplinary research and education center dedicated to solving environmental problems at the land-water interface and bay-lake exchanges in the Great Lakes".

http://www.utoledo.edu/as/lec/

The center is located in Maumee Bay State Park. You can find out more about this park at the following link:

http://www.maumeebaystateparklodge.com/

The following photo is of the Ohio River, which creates a beautiful divide between Cincinnati, Ohio and Lexington, Kentucky. It is my favorite view.

                                      http://www.cincinnatiohrealestate.net/images/cincinnatibridge.jpg

    Finally, I would like to share an animal which I am very passionate about.

My boyfriend and I rescued a baby raccoon two summers ago. We named him Ben and took turns getting up at night to feed him from a bottle. He has remained a family pet, and although MUCH larger than he was at first, he lives in a kennel in the backyard and loves to climb trees.

MAPS!

http://personal.frostburg.edu/sicarney0/symbol_1.jpg

I chose this proportional symbol map because I was born and raised in Ohio, and you grow up hearing a lot about coal when you live in the midwest. I think it's extremely interesting that my part of the country uses a dramatically different amount of coal than other parts.

I chose this choropleth map once again because of its focus on the great state of Ohio. It illustrates the number of single vehicle crash fatalities by county in 2009, and I think this is a very important comparison (weather and road conditions, various traffic signs and precautions taken...) that could lead to new developments in automobile safety.






http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/stsi/39_OH/2009/var1.gif




The final map I will be posting is my own...

This map is my favorite, of course I've highlighted some of the major landmarks of our property, including my parking spot, the tree dedicated to my little brother, our sledding hill, and my Dad's "man cave".